Combined Forward-Backward Asymmetry Measurements in Top-Antitop Quark Production at the Tevatron

The CDF and D0 experiments at the Fermilab Tevatron have measured the asymmetry between yields of forward- and backward-produced top and antitop quarks based on their rapidity difference and the asymmetry between their decay leptons. These measurements use the full data sets collected in proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt s =1.96$ TeV. We report the results of combinations of the inclusive asymmetries and their differential dependencies on relevant kinematic quantities. The combined inclusive asymmetry is $A_{\mathrm{FB}}^{t\bar{t}} = 0.128 \pm 0.025$. The combined inclusive and differential asymmetries are consistent with recent standard model predictions

The Acute Retinal Necrosis Syndrome

The acute retinal necrosis syndrome is characterized by necrotizing retinitis, vitritis, and retinal vasculitis occurring in otherwise healthy patients. Experience with 11 cases and the review of 30 additional cases in the literature are presented. In this series, 50% of the affected eyes developed retinal detachments, and 64% had a final visual acuity of less than 20/200. The natural history, diagnosis, postulated etiology, and suggestions for management will be discussed

Distribution and recovery trajectory of Macondo (Mississippi Canyon 252) oil in Louisiana coastal wetlands

We measured the concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons in 405 wetland sediment samples immediately before the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster led to their broad-scale oiling, and on nine trips afterwards. The average concentrations of alkanes and PAHs were 604 and 186 times the pre-spill baseline values, respectively. Oil was distributed with some attenuation up to 100 m inland from the shoreline for alkanes, but increased for aromatics, and was not well-circumscribed by the rapid shoreline assessments (a.k.a. SCAT) of relative oiling. The concentrations of target alkanes and PAHs in June 2013 were about 1% and 5%, respectively, of the February 2011 concentrations, but remained at 3.7 and 33 times higher, respectively, than in May 2010. A recovery to baseline conditions suggests that the concentration of alkanes may be near baseline values by the end of 2015, but that it may take decades for the PAH concentrations to be that low. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd

<i>Candida albicans FRE8</i> encodes a member of the NADPH oxidase family that produces a burst of ROS during fungal morphogenesis

<div><p>Until recently, NADPH oxidase (NOX) enzymes were thought to be a property of multicellularity, where the reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by NOX acts in signaling processes or in attacking invading microbes through oxidative damage. We demonstrate here that the unicellular yeast and opportunistic fungal pathogen <i>Candida albicans</i> is capable of a ROS burst using a member of the NOX enzyme family, which we identify as Fre8. <i>C</i>. <i>albicans</i> can exist in either a unicellular yeast-like budding form or as filamentous multicellular hyphae or pseudohyphae, and the ROS burst of Fre8 begins as cells transition to the hyphal state. Fre8 is induced during hyphal morphogenesis and specifically produces ROS at the growing tip of the polarized cell. The superoxide dismutase Sod5 is co-induced with Fre8 and our findings are consistent with a model in which extracellular Sod5 acts as partner for Fre8, converting Fre8-derived superoxide to the diffusible H₂O₂ molecule. Mutants of <i>fre8</i>Δ/Δ exhibit a morphogenesis defect <i>in vitro</i> and are specifically impaired in development or maintenance of elongated hyphae, a defect that is rescued by exogenous sources of H₂O₂. A <i>fre8</i>Δ/Δ deficiency in hyphal development was similarly observed <i>in vivo</i> during <i>C</i>. <i>albicans</i> invasion of the kidney in a mouse model for disseminated candidiasis. Moreover <i>C</i>. <i>albicans fre8</i>Δ/Δ mutants showed defects in a rat catheter model for biofilms. Together these studies demonstrate that like multicellular organisms, <i>C</i>. <i>albicans</i> expresses NOX to produce ROS and this ROS helps drive fungal morphogenesis in the animal host.</p></div

The ROS burst of <i>C</i>. <i>albicans</i> morphogenesis is eliminated by <i>fre8</i>Δ/Δ mutations.

<p>The indicated strains were induced to form hyphae by either 10% serum (A,C) or by IMDM, alkaline or Spider medium (B) as described in <i>Materials and Methods</i> and ROS formation by luminol was monitored as in <a href="http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006763#ppat.1006763.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1</a>. The <i>fre8</i> heterozygous “fre8Δ/+” or <i>fre8</i>Δ/Δ complemented with a single copy of <i>FRE8</i> (“fre8Δ/ΔRes”) exhibit haploinsufficiency with regard to ROS formation. All strains were in the background of SC5314.</p

Effect of <i>fre8</i>Δ/Δ mutations in a rat model of biofilm formation.

<p>SC5314 or the isogenic <i>fre8</i>Δ/Δ strain or the complemented <i>fre8</i>Δ/Δ harboring a single <i>FRE8</i> allele (“<i>fre8</i>Δ/Δ Res”) were tested for biofilm formation in the rat venous catheter model as described in <i>Materials and Methods</i>. Results in A-C are from three independent experimental trials. SEM images shown were taken at 80X (A), 1000X (B) and 2000X (C) magnification.</p